The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1887-12-23

HE COLUMBIAN, VOL XXI, NO so
LUhBiA DEMOCRAT, VOL Ii, NO SO
they left the weakened mainmast, and
dragged the topmast away with them.
The trail in the mud directed the cit
izens in the morning towards the per.
petrators of the deed. They sent a
committee to the superintendent of
the institute with indupitable proofs
of the responsibility of the cadets.
Colonel Smith assured them that prop
er reparation should be made, and go.
ing to the barracks required the young
men to provide another pole and de-
liver it to the citizens Of the town,
The matter was thus adjusted but
though the fuse had been discovered
and extiDguished the charge had not
been removed which threatened an ex-
plosion.
THE CADETS INFLAMED.
The next Saturday afternoon one of
two cadets walking on the street in
Lexington was insulted by a resident
of the county. The boy was not fa-
vorite with his fellows, not in any
sense controlling spirit among them,
but the esprit du corps, which had re-
corded as an unwritten law that the
honor of the whole was in every part
was instantly aflame. The companion
of the assaulted youth hurried to the
barracks and beat the roll call. 1t was
shortly before the hour of evening pa
rade and the Whole corps was in the
barracks. In moment the cadets
rushed forth, each gun in hand and
supplied with ball cartridges, finging
on his accoutrements as he ran. As
they went leaping down the hill they
called to each other to assemble in
front of the residence of Governor
Letcher, which stood at the foot of the
main street of the town. Colonel
Smith, the superintendent, who was
barely convalescent from desperate
illness, seeing the tumultuous issue of
the young men from the barracks, sus-
pected the nature of the outbreak and
hurrying by nearer way arrived at
the point of assembly just as the fanks
were formed.
Fearless and determined, possessed
of an unbounded influence with the ga
diets, he shouted out to them that what
ever might be the cause of the distur-
bance, he claimed the rignt to Lead
them. BY this time the Mayor Of the
| town had called out the local company
to repel the attack and preparat ons
were rapidly making for desperate
resistance.
oBEYING AS USUAL.
The habit If obedience among the
cadets and the commanding tone If
Colonel Smith promptly prevailed
over their excitement, and ah.n h
gave the order "Right 'ace' to turn
them towards the institute, ever,
man obeyed except Two, one of them a
nephew of General r. E. Lee. These
two he quickly subdued aud marched
the battalion to the barracks. The
mastery was gained for the moment.
but the tenure of authority upon the
minds of the excited young men was
still frail.
Marching the corps to the largest
class room Colonel Smith made to them
a calm aud earnest address, enlargng
on the desperate nature of the evils up
on which they had been about to run
and on the folly and crime of attacking
the people of their own State wheu
standing on the threshold of a
civil war. As he was concluding
Major Jackson entered the room and
took a chair upon the rostrum. As
soon as Colonel Smith ceased speaking
the cadets, apparently as much in a
spirit of bandlnage as in earnest called
oat Jackson Jackson" "Old Jack" ."
He sho"k his head. Colonel Smith
stopped aud said:
81 have driven in the nail, but it
needs cenching. Speak to them"
Delighted with the novel thought of
hearing "Old Jack" speak the cadets
rtdoubled their calls. At length he
rose slowly and awkwardly, and, in
his own peculiar and inimitable tones,
said {:
''sToNEwALLs" SPEECH.
"Young gentlemen, I am no speak
er. l am man of action. My prin.
clple is, when civil war begins draw
the sword and throw away the scab.
bard"
No more characteristic speech than
this was ever uttered. In its tersr
stern brevity, it was fitting precur-
sor of the famous reply to General
Bee, spoken by the same lips on the
field of Manassas:
"Sir, we will give them the bayontt'
In two days from the time of this
incident the requisition of President
Lincoln upon the Governor of Virgins
for the quota of the State towards The
seventy five thousand men called for
in his proclamation, reversed, as if by
a decree of fate, the sentiment of the
Union counties Of Virginia The ma
jority for the preservation of the Uuior
swung in a mass to the advocacy o.
secession. A committee OF the citi
zens of Lexington again waited on tn,
superintendent, not this time TO com
plain of insults to their Union senti
mants, but to ask tn" aid of the cadets
and of the cadet battery In firing E
salute to the flag of Virginia. He re
piled that ina>much as the State haC
not yet seeded, he conld not direc
the cadets to perform the service ask
ed; but that as many should have per
mission to participate in firing the
salute as should volunteer to serve. /
is needless to declare that the number
of volunteers was sufficient for th,
duty.
JAMES HENDERSON SMITH.
Lives in Red Hot Fire.